18 May 2015
The second biennial Forestry Industry Safety Summit, held in Rotorua from May 3-4, advanced critical discussions on forestry safety, with a focus on developing local and practical solutions. Attended by industry leaders, service providers and government representatives, the summit will see a Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) starting to take shape at the end of May.
An establishment board has been convened, with a representative from the Forest Owners Association, Farm Forestry Association, First Union/CTU and WorkSafe New Zealand, as well as two work representatives.
The role of the establishment board is to agree on the terms of reference for FISC. They will also appoint an independent chair and national safety director.
Once the chair and director are in place, FISC can be officially convened, with the initial members appointed. It will then meet to develop a work-plan, which is expected to be based on recommendations from the independent panel. Funding will come from the Forest Grower Levy and government, namely ACC and WorkSafe.
Safety initiatives likely to be included in the FISC work-plan include Safetree, which consolidates all safety information in one place. The Safetree slogan – ‘You are the key’ – promotes the message that a safe working environment is the personal responsibility of everyone in the industry, from owners and managers, to loggers and chainsaw operators. Safetree’s focus is aligned with the safety review panel’s recommendations.
A proud sponsor of the event, Competenz presented its Apprentice Video at the 2015 Forestry Industry Safety Summit.
